Ezoo Interview With Tigerlily

Dara Kristen Hayes, known as Tigerlily is an Australian Progressive House DJ, who is undeniably captivating from the moment she enters the room. Not only does her blue hair catch your eye and spark your interest, but Tigerlily’s electrifying stage presence and personality draws you in. Hand picked as one of Tiesto’s main support acts for Asia and the USA, Tigerlily has performed at some of the world’s most renowned venues and has just landed a residency at the prestigious Hakkasan in Las Vegas. Not only that, but she recently signed with Island Records Australia (Universal) and has been hard at work taking the DJ world by storm. We had the privilege to sit and chat with Tigerlily after her Electric Zoo set this past weekend. EDMNYC: How did you get into DJing?Tigerlily: I’ve always been playing music since I was a young child. My parents sent me to music school which is where I started to play the piano, sing and write music. Then in primary school and high school I joined all the orchestra’s, jazz bands and concert. That’s where my musical foundation came from. I eventually got a fake ID and started clubbing, which is when I fell in love with dance music. From there I got my hands on a pair of decks, practiced in my bedroom and then got my first show. That’s how it all started. EDMNYC: What was your first show?Tigerlily: It was a place called the Coogee Pavilion in Syndey, Australia and I was playing the opening set (9pm-10pm). I played incredibly in appropriately hard and had no idea what I was doing. I actually stopped the music 3 times during my set, but they still asked me to come back which was really great. I still go to this venue all the time on a Sunday to have a drink because it really is great. EDMNYC:How is it being a female within the industry?Tigerlily: Difficult, very difficult. You’ve got to be

prepared to be judged and take criticism, but as long as you’re tough and you have self confidence and faith within yourself, you’ll be fine. I always tell women to go forth with strength and confidence and use their femininity and sexuality as a positive and embrace it as opposed to trying to hide it. EDMNYC: You have an upcoming collaboration with KSHMR. How was it working with KSHMR?Tigerlily: It was so rad working with KAHMR, I still can’t believe it. I’m a fan of his and his work is incredible. I had the idea back in Melbourne, Australia a few months ago and I sent it over to Tiesto. He said “Send this to KSHMR. I bet he’ll love to work on this with you.” That’s exactly what happened. We finished it off together and he put his KSHMR touch on it, which is just next level, and then we came up with the concept of the track and called it ‘Invisible Children.‘ (It came out this past Monday btw, so if you haven’t heard it yet, check it out here). EDMNYC: We hear you’re running the NYC marathon in November.Tigerlily: Yes. I’ve never run a full marathon before so I think that part will be really not great lol, but I’m running it for a good cause. Lifeline, an Australian charity, which is based around suicide prevention and mental health awareness. I’m hoping to raise some good funds for them. (You can donate here). EDMNYC: How are you training for this marathon?Tigerlily: HAHA, by eating gummy sharks lol (she ate the gummy shark out of our drink earlier in the interview). I’m not kidding, it’s slow. I have two months and 4 days, but who’s counting. That’s plenty of time, right? I actually ran a 20K the the other day, which is a half marathon and it took me two hours. It wasn’t that bad, but I was certainly sore the next day. My goal is to run a couple more 20K’s and even do a 35K. I have about 7 days off in Hawaii coming up later this month so I’m hoping I can get a 35K in. If I run a 35K then I know the 42K is just an extra 7K’s of adrenaline. EDMNYC: For future female DJ’s, what advice would you give them?Tigerlily: Work hard, play hard, be prepared to travel shitloads and be exhausted constantly. It’s not glamorous, it’s not easy, and it’s certainly not all fun, sunshine and roses, but in saying that, it’s extremely rewarding and it feels really good to be a female in a male dominated industry. Follow you passion and follow your heart. All the women within this industry are really supportive of one another which is really amazing, so support your local girl gang and fuck the boys club. ~Michelle for EDMNYC ~Photos by Ashley Zucker